This invention relates to a system for remote diagnosis of software, hardware and operational malfunctions in a computer over telephone lines and more particularly to a system which accomplishes such diagnosis by transmitting voice and data information between a computer user and a diagnostic support center over telephone lines.
It is not uncommon for computer systems users to experience hardware, software or operational problems in the day-to-day use of their equipment. In some instances the problems are such that they can be diagnosed and corrected on site by the user of the equipment; however, in most cases the user or operator of the equipment does not possess the technical skills necessary to properly troubleshoot and/or correct the fault. When this occurs it is generally necessary to obtain outside assistance from a technically skilled person at a support center, which is generally, but not always, the supplier of the equipment.
In the past, attempts have been made to troubleshoot and correct such malfunctions by simply calling the support center over a telephone and describing what appears to be the problem. This technique has not proven to be very successful, mainly because of the inability of the operator or user to accurately and completely describe the problem and/or what he is observing on his display terminal.
Another technique that has been employed in the past has involved sending voice and data information from the user to the support center over telephone lines using acoustic couplers to transmit the data from the terminal into the telephone line. Unfortunately this technique has also not proven to be entirely satisfactory. One of the problems with this technique is that it has only been possible to send data from the user to the support center at baud rates of about 300, which is relatively slow. Another problem with this technique is that in order to send the data the telephone instrument must be physically placed inside the acoustic coupler. When voice communications with the support center is desired or needed the telephone instrument must be phusically removed from the acoustic coupler. Consequently it is not possible to provide a continual and rapid change over between voice to data communication.
As a result, the technique that has been most frequently employed to diagnose and correct problems has been to send a technician from the support center to the user-site. Some of the disadvantages in this approach are that it is time consuming, often very expensive and not practical in the case of minor problems. In addition, at many times it has been difficult, after a time period has elapsed, to recreate the specific problem or the same conditions that caused the problem.
Accordingly, the need exists for a new and improved technique for diagnosing and, if possible, correcting hardware, software and operational faults occuring at a user-site during the day-to-day use of his equipment.